Article December 28, 2015 Issue

A biblical promise for refugees

Debra Corry Brandt

Currently the world is experiencing a refugee crisis and a wave of migration that is being described as the largest since World War II. Heartbreaking reports of overloaded boats with migrants fleeing their home countries, as well as overcrowded refugee camps, have been flooding the news.

While the current crisis is particularly severe, migration for economic, political, or religious reasons is nothing new. In fact, many of us can trace our family histories back to the migration of ancestors from one country to another.

It would seem that the history of much of humanity is one of displaced citizens and mass migration, instigated by fear of religious persecution, want of greater economic opportunity, or the threat of death. Included in this history are many well-known biblical figures, who at one time or another were refugees. But we find a message of hope in the Bible because its overall record is not one of man’s defeat because of violence, oppression, or limited opportunities, but of man’s triumph over them through a deepening trust in and understanding of God and His divine promise of good for all His children.

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